A Wokingham mum and her teenage son have been caught up in Hurricane Sandy during a half term holiday to New York.

A Wokingham mum and her teenage son have been caught up in Hurricane Sandy during a half term holiday to New York.

Hilary Grealis flew out to the city on Friday but has spent much of her holiday so far inside their hotel.

Sandy hit the east coast of America at around midnight on Monday causing destruction in New York, New Jersey and West Virginia.

In an email to The Wokingham Times on Monday Mrs Grealis, who lives near the town centre, said: “We are holed up in our hotel near Times Square waiting for the storm to hit.

“It’s very quiet, nearly all shops are closed and hardly anyone around. Even Starbucks are shut today, that must be unheard of in NYC.” They were due to fly home yesterday evening but have postponed their return trip until Friday after airports were closed and flights were suspended.

Yesterday morning the pair were able to venture out of the hotel to see what damage had been done to the city.